what is the difference between an rn with a BA and an rn with an AA?

Question

do they do the same jobs and get the same pay? at my community college a counselor said that if i become a nurse it will only be the 'messy' kind. he also hinted that it wasnt a real nurse. whats truth and whats fiction?

Answer 1

The difference is that you spend another two years in school for the bachelor's degree. In both cases you are going to be doing 'messy' stuff because bedside nursing is a not a clean job. You will be dealing with poop and all different kinds of body fluids and diseases. The advantage of the bachelor's degree is that it enables you to go further in your nursing career if you want to go into management, but at the bedside care level of nursing the difference in pay between the associates degree nurse and the bachelor's degree nurse is not very significant. It some cases there is no difference at all in pay, and in some cases it may be a dollar or less an hour more, but definitely nothing too much more than that.

Answer 2

A BA is a four year college degree, an AA is a two-year degree. To be a floor nurse at a hospital, the AA is sufficient - if you want to be a supervisor, you probably need the BA.

Either is a "real" nurse. The person with the BA has more room for advancement.

Answer 3

Some places may pay more but at the hospital I work at (KY) they pay the same. You can work in L & D with an associates degree. Basically BA and AA are the same but most nurses with a Bachelors move up the ladder a lot quicker than associate nurses.

Answer 4

an AA is a two-year degree, a BA is a four-year.
obviously you're going to learn a lot more in those extra two years, no?

lemme ask you...
who would you rather be in the care of?

so yes, an RN with a BA will make more because honestly they'll be more valuable.